By Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio for WVMetroNews.com
The lone remaining Mid-Ohio Valley representative in this year’s playoffs – St. Marys – faces a 2016 state title game rematch on the way to what would be their third trip to Wheeling Island in the last four years.
Class A No. 5 St. Marys (10-1) at No. 1 East Hardy (12-0) – Friday 7:30, East Hardy High School
St. Marys didn’t just make a statement or a Statement in their 47-0 last Friday against Tug Valley – the Blue Devils made a STATEMENT.
St. Marys created takeaways and scored points on defense, they showed a balanced, productive attack on offense and got sound special teams play that yielded points and limited Tug Valley’s field position all night.
In other words, it was a welcome change from an opening round effort that saw the Blue Devils tied at six with Doddridge County. St. Marys head coach Jodi Mote credits the Blue Devils’ late-season renaissance to the fact his team is as healthy now as they’ve been since the start of the year.
“It just seemed like after the Williamstown game, the injuries started to mount. And we were affected from that time on,” Mote said. “But fortunately, we got healthier and now here we are. We were fortunate to stay healthy last year. This year, we weren’t as fortunate, but we were able to get those guys back.”
With things clicking on all cylinders, it’s hard to decide where to start when looking at this St. Marys team. The offense racked up more than 500 total yards against Tug Valley, with all but a hundred of those coming on the ground.
The Blue Devils had three players – Jaiden Smith, Matt Eichorn and Dylan Gray – that scored rushing touchdowns against Tug Valley. Mote says the unselfishness of his backfield stable has been a key to success for St. Marys.
“You have so many kids who could be THAT particular kid, but we haven’t had that. These kids have truly bought into the team concept. And that’s so important as a team,” Mote said. “We’ve got a lot of talented skill players on offense and they’ve just been able to go out and do the job in front of them.”
Then there’s the sequence St. Marys turned in on defense last week to start the second half, one that came when the Blue Devils already led 24-0. Zach Long recovered a fumble on the Panthers’ opening drive of the second half and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
Tug Valley also fumbled the ball away on their next drive, which turned into a St. Marys score on a Gray touchdown run. Tug then coughed up the ensuing kickoff, and Eric Illar connected with Gray on a touchdown strike.
In quick succession in the third quarter, three Tug Valley turnovers became three St. Marys touchdowns, and just like that, St. Marys’ ticket to the semifinals was punched. But Mote says the solid play isn’t just coming from his defense at this point in the season.
“I feel like in all three phases, our kids have played really well. And I give credit to our coaching staff for putting our players in the position to succeed,” said Mote.
The opponent for St. Marys this week is a familiar one – the same East Hardy team the Blue Devils defeated in last year’s state title game. In fact, this is the third straight year these teams have met up in the postseason. Two years ago, East Hardy dispatched St. Marys in Baker on their way to the 2015 Super Six.
East Hardy is looking for its third straight trip to Wheeling Island after being routed in the 2015 title game and a close loss to St. Marys last year. Mote gives a lot of the credit for the program’s success to head coach Chad Williams.
“East Hardy has a great coaching staff and Coach Williams does a great job with his kids,” Mote said.
One difference this year is the quarterback. Clay Skovron has connected for 32 touchdown passes while taking the reins from the graduated Corey McDonald.
Much of the reasons for Skovron’s success is the return of McDonald’s top weapon from last year, wide receiver Brett Tharp – who is no stranger to the St. Marys coaching staff.
“I’ve looked at his sophomore year, his junior year and now his senior year. He’s just unbelievable.” Mote said of Tharp. “I’ve talked to a lot of coaches and they say their quarterback is the glue that holds it all together. He’s a linebacker on defense too.”
Though the St. Marys coaching staff has watched all of East Hardy’s game film this season, they see particular benefit in watching games of shared opponents, like South Harrison and Williamstown.
And though the practice of comparing teams through use of the transitive property is never quite accurate, it does help the Blue Devils – and likely East Hardy as well – to prepare when viewing their opponent against a team with which they share a history.
“We watched the tape of their South Harrison game and on a kickoff return, they had a guy that was able to take an angle and chase down Freddy (Canary), so given his speed, that was an eye-opener,” Mote commented, on the benefits of seeing your opponent on film against a familiar team.
The trip to East Hardy is becoming as daunting in Class A as the trip to Martinsburg has been in Class AAA – meaning those schools have used the Eastern Panhandle as a fortress they’ve both done well to defend.
“Williamstown’s tried twice, Wheeling Central’s tried twice. This is our second time, so obviously it’s a testament to Chad and his coaching staff.” Mote said, about teams that have tried to win in Baker in recent years and about how well East Hardy has done at turning their location into an advantage.
“I’ve told our kids, we’re underdogs. They’re the number one team in the state for a reason. We’ve got to go over there and play the best we can and let the chips fall where they may,” Mote continued.
Though explosive plays on offense and suffocating defense helped St. Marys reach the semifinal round for another year, the Blue Devils know they’ll need a more methodical effort in order to return to Wheeling Island.
“Offensively, we’re used to long runs, and against them, you can’t do that. You have to focus on positive plays and moving the chains,” Mote said. “For a semifinal game, it should be a good one.
This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.